AFC North Division & Playoff Picture Remain Unchanged After Week 12

We are now 12 weeks through the 2011 NFL regular season and that means there are just 5 more to go. After the games so far this week, the playoff picture in the AFC did not change very much. The Texans overcame the loss of new starter Matt Leinart to hold off the Jaguars on Sunday. The win by the Texans keeps them as the number one seed in the AFC with 5 games left to play. The Patriots and Tom Brady has no problem with the Eagles on Sunday and they too moved to 8-3 on the season and maintained their number two spot in the AFC seeding.

The Ravens did not gain any ground in the way of a seed after winning Thursday night against the 49ers, but the win was good enough for a Gatorade bath for John Harbaugh, maintain control of the AFC North and keep the 3rd seed in the the conference. The Raiders and the Bengals both won yesterday as well and that put even more pressure on the Steelers to win last night in Kansas City. The 13-9 win over the Chiefs means that the Steelers stay in the 5th spot in the AFC and they would be a wildcard if the season ended today. They would face the Raiders in the first round of the playoffs if things finished the way they are right now.

The Broncos, Jets and Titans all won their games on Sunday and all three teams sit on the outside looking in with a 6-5 record. The Steelers would have to lose two of their remaining 5 games to get into a situation of where they might not make the playoffs as at least a wildcard.

Below is a look at the AFC playoff picture with 5 weeks left in the regular season.